Ministry Marriage Law
by neldnew1
Summary: What happens when the Ministry proposes a new law stating that all witches and wizards of age and up, who are not already wed will be paired up with another around their age group?  Who will be paired with whom? Please read and review!


Prologue

Hermione Granger sighed as she entered platform 9 ¾. It was now her seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and yet, she remembered boarding the train for the first time as if it had been yesterday. She gripped the handle of her trunk in one hand and her acceptance letter in the other. Due to previous events, all students had been invited to return back to Hogwarts to repeat their year.

Of course, Hermione accepted, convincing her friends to do the same. Harry and Ron were the most stubborn of all, barely allowing them the time to accept the invitation. Ginny Weasly and Luna Lovegood had chosen not to repeat their year, but to join the trio in their final year. Another who had agreed was the trio's longtime friend and Housemate, Neville.

Hermione's eyes scanned her acceptance letter. Along with being invited to another year at Hogwarts, Hermione had also been chosen for the position of Head Girl. She reread the section that explained she would be sharing a dorm with the Head Boy cautiously, thinking of who her co-Head could be.

She boarded the train, searching for the Head's compartment. When she finally arrived, the compartment was empty. Hermione stowed her trunk under her seat and pinned on her Head Girl badge. She sat in silence for some time before exiting the compartment and searching for her friends.

* * *

><p>Draco Malfoy scrambled into the Head compartment, angrily shoving his trunk under his seat. He closed his eyes and stretched out his legs, his toe brushing against something rough. His eyes shot open, glaring at the object which had broken his relaxation. Draco realized the object had been another trunk. <em>Probably the Head Girls, <em>he thought.

A name was neatly carved into the side: _Hermione Granger_. He sighed, messaging his temples.

"This can't be happening." He muttered.

* * *

><p>Unable to find her friends, Hermione returned to the compartment, gasping as she entered.<p>

"M-Malfoy!"

Sitting, head in his hands, was Draco Malfoy, former Death Eater and foe of the trio. His blonde hair was slicked back (as always), bringing out his pale, pointed features. He looked up, setting Hermione in a cruel gaze.

"Granger," he said.

"What are you doing here? In the Head's compartment?"

"What do you think, genius?" he asked flatly. "And they say you're the brightest witch of our age."

Hermione moved to her seat, staying as far away from Draco as possible.

"Shouldn't I be the one doing that?"

"Doing what?" Hermione snapped.

"Trying to avoid you?" Draco asked. "You know, me being blood-prejudice and all?"

He smirked, watching her facial expression change. "So why'd they choose _you_?"

"Thought you were safe, huh? Never thought they'd choose a former Death Eater as Head Boy? I thought the same, seeing as Hogwarts is the only thing keeping me out of Azkaban," Draco said, shrugging.

Hermione studied him. "Did you want it?"

"What?"

"Did you want to become a Death Eater?" she asked meekly.

"At the time… yes," Draco watched as Hermione's emotions shifted. Her eyes showed… fear. "I know now that it was a stupid decision. But look at it as my point of view. Every since I was small, I had been taught that the Dark Lord's wills were correct. And during the summer of our fifth year, I was assigned the task to kill Dumbledore. Me, I was chosen above all others for this task. The Dark Lord had chosen… _me_. I had one chance to regain my father's honor, and one chance to have my life spared." Draco continued looking down at his polished, leather shoes. "I had always been jealous of Potter… his popularity… his bravery…. And then, then and there, it was my time to shine. I was the Harry Potter of the Dark Side! I should have been happy but… I wasn't. Seeing my parents tortured every other day, innocent lives lost, my aunt swooning over the Dark Lord… but I had no choice, if I disagreed with one thing, I would die.

"Now, I don't know which would have been better: dying or this guilt gnawing me from the inside out."

Hermione stayed silent a moment. She hadn't been expecting a direct answer from him… maybe the War had really changed him.

"You should change into your robes –" her voice cracked.

Draco still wouldn't look at her. "I will in a minute."

Once again, Hermione exited the compartment, leaving Draco alone. He glanced at his feet once again and left to change into his robes.


End file.
